Lessons in leadership for DGEs

Jaishree

One year after your tenure you will be a past governor but will continue to preside over events in your district. If you want to leave footprints on the sands of time then consider this year as the most crucial part of your life,” said RI President Shekhar Mehta addressing the governorselect at the GETS seminar at the Mahabs institute.

“There’s nothing like being home, at the institute of our own zones,” he remarked, having attended virtual or in-person institutes around the world, the latest being Japan’s virtual one at 5am! He complimented GETS chair PDG Gowri Rajan (RID 3220, Sri Lanka) for being the first woman to chair a GETS session in 40 years.

His mantra to the incoming governors: dream big and have a positive attitude. “As leaders you should soar the highest. This one year is very special for you all as you will be inspiring thousands of people around you to change the lives of millions of people,” he said. Recalling the dream of Rotarians 40 years ago to eradicate polio from the world, he said, “It takes a lot of courage, belief and determination to act on such a massive programme. People may laugh at your audacity to have big dreams. But they will have the last laugh when you march towards that goal, taking your team along with you.”

Urging the incoming leaders to have a positive attitude Mehta said, “This is a voluntary organisation. You joined Rotary out of your own free will. Having done that, it is not right to say that this is not possible, I cannot do this etc. A volunteer is someone who says yes, we can, and we will,” he reiterated.

He said one of his dreams as governor was to build 500 houses for the poor and “I conveyed this to my presidents. In a month’s time a club president brought a corporate who was ready to donate land. The club signed an MoU and got the land. We had applied for a 3H-grant that normally takes two years to be approved. But on June 24, six days before the end of my tenure, it got approved for `1.5 crore. And we built 300 houses that year. Likewise, after seven trips to the tsunami-affected Andaman and Nicobar Islands we built 500 houses. It cost `3 crore and we began the project without any bank balance. That is the power of a positive outlook and believing in your dreams.”

Mehta asked the DGEs to set clear goals and shared his trainer’s advice to him as a DGE. “He said that a governor’s job is to lubricate the egos of the club presidents. The same goes for the club president. He just has to pat a club member on his shoulder and say, ‘Good job. Well done.’ It will work wonders.”

Emphasising on his pet concept, ‘Each one, bring one’, he said, “Ask

your friends to be Rotarians. Ask your partners to invite their friends to Rotary.”

The RI President’s pep talk to the DGEs included contribution to TRF and doing bigger, bolder service projects. “We have a role to play in the nation-building process. Our programmes and scale are unmatched. In India we have 1.7 lakh Rotarians. Even our government does not have so many people of this calibre at their highest level. Make yourself so strong that the chief minister should come and ask, what is it, Rotary, that we can do together?” he said.

Mehta said the TRF contributions from zones 4,5,6 and 7 which include five countries — India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan — is outstanding and urged the DGEs to maintain the tempo. “America gives 10 times the money that we give to the Foundation. If India gives $20 million, the US gives $200 million. But the purchase parity of an Indian rupee is 22.5 LCU (Local Currency Unit) per dollar. Which means every dollar paid is equivalent to 22 times the Indian rupee. So if the $20 million is multiplied by 22.5, then we are giving much more than the US,” he explained.

Mehta advised the district leaders to include Rotaractors in their district committees and treat them with respect. “Our resources, experience and wisdom combined with their youthfulness, energy, enthusiasm and technology will make a winning combination to take Rotary forward.”

Faster, higher and stronger

Institute convener RID AS Venkatesh referred to the Olympics motto — citius, altius, fortius ( faster, higher and stronger), to give the adrenaline push to the DGEs. “It does not mean that you must compete against someone. Each district is unique in its own way — your DNA, resources, membership profile, geographical location, every aspect is different. A district like 3240 has nine states, whereas closer home, one district — 3232 comprises one city — Chennai. So they cannot be compared. The competition should be with yourself. It is all about doing better than what you ever thought you could, and doing it all together.”

DGEs Pubudu De Zoysa (RID 3220) and Dr Jayagowri Hadigal (RID 3182).

Make yourself so strong that the chief minister

should come and ask, what is it, Rotary, that we can do together?

Referring to an elephant carving on stone, typical of Mahabalipuram sculpture, he said, “remove whatever is not relevant for an elephant from the stone and you get the elephant.” The DGEs will have to remove unnecessary thoughts so that “you can focus on what is required. To move faster, higher and stronger, you need to offload the irrelevant thoughts.”

Venkatesh stressed on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at club level. “You must appreciate and acknowledge the role of your partners in your journey as district leaders. Your year as governor will be enhanced and more productive and meaningful if you choose to include your partner. I can tell you from experience that the kind of feedback they can give you, nobody else can. Vinita has always given me honest, sincere feedback when I served as governor and subsequently in various other roles,” he added.

Rotary — a symphony

Rotary leaders do not fit into any of the conventional forms of leadership, “instead we are all voluntary leaders. We do it from our heart,” said institute co-convener RID Mahesh Kotbagi. Based on leadership qualities he compared the leaders to different types of musical instruments — woodwind, brass, string and percussion. “As you complement each other you create a symphony. Ultimately, it is the teamwork that counts,” he said.

Institute chair PDG Muruganandam, quoting a couplet of Tamil poet Avvaiyar: Katradhu kai alavu; kallaadhadhu ulagalavu (what one knows is only a fistful; the unknown is the size of the world), urged the DGEs to be receptive to learning all through their year. Love your responsibility, learn wherever possible, live your destiny and serve your district to make your year a memorable one, was his message to them.

Gowri pointed out that when the world was going through the Covid crisis, Rotary, with its cutting-edge projects and new ways to meet, stayed relevant to the changing circumstances. “Thus a new leadership style was born and those who have been agile have been the survivors. You will be a special team as you will be serving under Rotary’s first woman president — Jennifer Jones.” Thanking Venkatesh for choosing her as GETS chair, she said, “You walk the talk. Instead of making DEI a lip service you have truly marked the value of diversity and given the tiny island of Sri Lanka an opportunity.”

RID Bharat Pandya, the general trainer, introduced the GETS trainers for membership, Foundation giving and service projects.

You walk the talk. Instead

of making DEI a lip service you have truly marked the value of

diversity and given the tiny island of Sri Lanka an opportunity.

PDG Gowri Rajan to RID Venkatesh

Vinita Venkatesh and GETS Chair PDG Gowri Rajan.

DEI principles must for Rotary to grow

Kiran Zehra

Rotarians must strive to build a world in which diversity is celebrated with people across religion, culture, national boundaries and socioeconomic status, to enrich humanity, said Trustee-elect and PRID Bharat Pandya. Speaking at the DEI session at the Mahabs 21 institute, he urged the incoming governors to “understand each element in the Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) principle of Rotary to take it forward in the coming years.”

The first step, he said, is to realise that diversity is not just “setting an agenda or paying lip service to bringing in a certain percentage of women into Rotary or adding more Rotaractors. DGEs must be aware of the diversity within the district and across age sity within the district and across age groups, and the context of how groups, and the context of how DEI would play out for indiDEI would play out for individuals in their clubs, district viduals in their clubs, district and zone,” he said. and zone,” he said.

Trustee-elect and PRID Bharat Pandya

DEI is crucial for the success of the Grow Rotary initiative. “The idea is to help you to think strategically on membership so that the Each one, bring one initiative is truly effective.” Club programmes and projects must have space for DEI principles to grow. “We have our own biases, but we have to learn to be more empathetic and open-minded. Try to work with people whose backgrounds and perspectives are different from yours, and learn from Rotary leaders with diverse leadership styles.”

Sometimes equity is confused with equality, he said. “Equity is the process of ensuring that every process and programme at the club, district and zonal level is impartial, fair and provides equal possible outcomes for every member in the club.” Members must feel a sense of belonging to the club and “as leaders you have to ensure every Rotarian feels comfortable and supported.”

On the issue of Rotary’s zero tolerance towards harassment, Pandya gave a presentation on “the escalation process to ensure that a member complaining about a certain issue must not face retaliation of any sort. You have to act with integrity and be fair in every situation,” he said.

The DEI principle must be included in the district training programme and DGEs can log in to www.rotary.org for sourcing resource material and more information on this subject, said RI Director AS Venkatesh. “If you want speakers or Venkatesh. “If yo trainers, Director Mahesh and I can trainers, Director arrange that for you. Don’t be afraid arrange that for y to ask questions about DEI. All of us to ask questions a are learning here.” are learning here

Encouraging the DGEs to listen Encouraging and learn from the Rotary leaders, and learn from t GETS chair PDG Gowri Rajan said GETS chair PDG “Rotary will make history when “Rotary will m its first woman president (Jennifer its first woman p Jones) will take office in July next Jones) will take year and you will be year part of this historical team. While you will be part of an epoch-making year, always remember to be humble and keep your feet on the ground.”

TRF Dazzlers

Text and pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat

From R: RI President Shekhar Mehta, Institute Convener RID AS Venkatesh, Samina and TRF Trustee Chair Representative Trustee Aziz Memon at the TRF Dinner.

EMGA PDG JB Kamdar and Institute Chair PDG M Muruganandam.

TRF Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty with RRFC PDG John Daniel.

RI President Mehta, Trustees Vahanvaty and Memon with the AKS members.

This year at the zone institute Mahabs 21, the TRF dinner titled Arch Kumph Society Celebration was confined to recognising and honouring AKS members, both from the Chair’s Circle and the Trustees Circle.

The AKS members entered the hall in a procession. They included PDG Suresh Jain (RC Delhi South East, RI District 3011) and his late wife Usha; PDGs Vinay and Rashmi Kulkarni (RC Pune Parvati, RID 3131), along with Suresh Kumar and Kiran Poddar (RC Jaipur Mid Town, RID 3052). All the three couples belong to the Chair’s circle, with their TRF contributions crossing $500,000.

The other new AKS inductees, all belonging to the Trustees circle, are V R Muthu and Malarvizhi from RC Virudhunagar, RID 3212 ; V Bhaskar Ram and Suchitra, RC Rajahmundry River City, RID 3020; M Ambalavanan and Geetharani, RC Madras Mid-town, RID 3232; Natanasabapathy Sundaravadivelu and Murugambal, RC Coimbatore, RID 3201; SV Veeramani and Radha, RC Adyar, RID 3232; Nitin Ratilal Mehta and Harsha, RC Bombay Airport, RID 3141; Nikunj Jhaveri and Kanan, RC Queen’s Necklace, RID 3141; Santiago Martin, RC Coimbatore Central, and Leema Rose, RC Coimbatore Aakruthi, RID 3201.

Thanking the generous donors, and raising a toast to the new entrants to the AKS club, RI President Shekhar Mehta said their money to the TRF helped in giving eyesight to people, mending hearts, saving lives, and improving the living conditions of the less fortunate around the world. “Both TRF and mankind is richer because of people like you. Thank you for your generosity, your compassion and love for humanity.”

In 2020–21, once again, our zones have emerged No 2 in TRF giving with a total of $23.6 million, with India alone contributing $22.4 million. RI District 3141, led by Sunnil Mehra, emerged the topmost district in the world with a contribution of $3.5 million. Mehra and his team were recognised at the TRF dinner ceremony.

EMGA J B Kamdar, also an AKS member along with wife Marlene (Chair’s circle), welcomed the gathering, Convener and RI Director AS Venkatesh, RI Director Mahesh Kotbagi, TRF Trustee Chair representative Trustee Aziz Memon and TRF Trustee Gulam Vahanvaty greeted and thanked the AKS members.

Current year’s Major Donors and EMGAs Deepak Gupta, J B Kamdar, Suresh Hari and Dr Pramod were all recognised.

Above from left: TRF Trustee Memon and Samina, and RI Director Mahesh Kotbagi and Amita; TRF Trustee-elect Bharat Pandya and Madhavi with DG Gaurish Dhond; From L: TRF Trustee Vahanvaty, RID Venkatesh, Trustee Memon, RI President Mehta and RID Kotbagi. Right: RI President Mehta, PRID Pandya, Trustees Memon and Vahanvaty with RID 3141 PDGs Sunnil Mehra, TN Subramanian, DGE Sandip Agarwalla and AKS members of the district. V Muthukumaran

Sridhar Bharathy

From left: Institute Convener Venkatesh interacting with its Chair Muruganandam and his spouse Sumathi; (From L) PRID Manoj Desai, Sharmishtha, Sumathi, PDG Muruganandam and Meera, spouse of PDG John Daniel; (From L) DGE K Babumon and spouse Beena with Vinita Venkatesh.

Lighter Moments

Rasheeda Bhagat

A shock absorber called Vinita

Planning a zone institute during an unprecedented pandemic such as was inflicted on the entire world by the minuscule coronavirus is indeed a daunting task. RI Director A S Venkatesh had to grapple with this huge challenge for over 18 months, wondering all the time if he and the event chair, PDG M Muruganandam, would be able to pull off an in-person institute at Mahabalipuram. In his welcome address, Venky, as he is popularly known in the Rotary world, said he “started thinking of an institute when I was declared director nominee, but little did I know that the next institute after Indore (of PRID Bharat Pandya) would be mine. There was nothing in between to watch and learn from.”

There was “so much of uncertainty, apprehension, fear… so many doubts, not only among the delegates but members of the organising committee as well, if this would happen.” First Lockdown 1 and 2 happened, and then came the

Institute convener RID A S Venkatesh and Vinita. PRID P T Prabhakar, PDG John Daniel and Nalini Prabhakar are seated behind.

terrifying Covid second wave which left India reeling. He doubted if any institute organising committee had been forced to hold so many meetings online. “We saw the venue for the first time about 22 months ago and visited it the second time only two months ago, as it was practically under lockdown for most of the time in between,” he said.

“And to compound matters, just about 11 days ago, Chennai had unprecedented rains. The city was flooded; I got at least 40 calls wanting to know if the institute was going to

Change is interesting. Sometimes my wife says ‘you look horrible’ but that’s ok. You can’t eat the

same food every day.

Cricketer Kapil Dev

happen. Well, I trusted my team and the almighty. And he has been kind; without his blessings we couldn’t all have met here.”

These were the travails “we went through but finally, seeing over 700 of you at this meeting I realise that it was all worth the anxiety that chair Muruga and I went through.”

But, admitted Venky, with a smile, though he presented a picture of calm and confidence to his entire team, he was under tremendous pressure and tension, “and all of that was absorbed wonderfully by Vinita (his wife). She has been a wonderful shock absorber all along, and I am really grateful to her for that!”

The endearing Kapil Dev

Cricket legend Kapil Dev virtually took over the stage, the auditorium and the audience at his session at the institute. Totally enjoying the spotlight on him, when quizzed by RI Director Venkatesh about frequently changing his look through different hairstyles such as a pony tail, or

sporting the Sardarji look through a turban, he said, “change is interesting. Sometimes my wife says ‘you look horrible’ but that’s ok. You can’t eat the same food every day.”

Turning to Vinita Venkatesh, he then joked that maybe she should try changing her husband’s look!

When asked about his famous knock of 175 (not out) against Zimbabwe and the pressures he must have faced while playing in important tournaments, he said playing cricket made him happy and did not give him stress. And when a batsman goes on to the field during challenging times, he is only thinking of “how to take care of your family, and your team is your family. And I am always ready to do anything for my country.”

Also, forget getting stressed on the field, “I do not even understand the word ‘depression’. Perhaps that’s because I live in a joint family and in a joint family you can’t get depressed. Only when you live alone and have nobody to talk to, you may feel depressed.”

Freely mingling with the audience, exchanging hugs, greetings and smiles, and making it clear that he had all the time in the world to spend with the doting audience, Kapil Dev threw the institute schedule timing for a toss, but then nobody was complaining as he turned out to be an entertainer par excellence!

An MMM club

All the senior leaders at the Mahabs Institute, including RI President Shekhar Mehta, went gaga over the institute chair PDG M Muruganandam involving the 30-odd members from his office to help out with the planning, organisation and execution of Mahabs 21. When it was his turn to give his closing remarks TRF Trustee Chair John Germ’s representative to the institute, Trustee Aziz Memon, said it was heartening to see so many of the personal staff of the PDG, known in the Rotary world as MMM, helping him to put together the institute. In fact, as he had an entire Rotary club in his backyard; “I suggest you form a MMM Rotary Club with these people.”

Memon, who regaled the audience with the innumerable instances his name was changed in India to ‘Menon’, said that he had accepted the inevitable and when people said he had misspelt his name when he signed in as ‘Memon’, “I quietly change it to Menon, to make things simpler!”

TRF Trustee Aziz Memon and Samina. PRID Bharat Pandya and Madhavi are also seen.

Cricket legend Kapil Dev with RI President Shekhar Mehta and Rashi.

Mahabs moments

RI President Shekhar Mehta and Rashi.

PRIP KR Ravindran with PRID C Basker and Mala.

Jaishree Jaishree

Vinita Venkatesh and Madhavi Pandya.

From L: Sujata, Instiute Vice-chair R Madhav Chandran, Institute Chair M Muruganandam and Sumathi.

Vinita Venkatesh and Amita Kotbagi. RI President Mehta and Institute Convener RID AS Venkatesh.

Clockwise from above: A performance by a dance troupe from Atma Foundation of Kalakshetra. A section of DGEs. (From L) RIDs Mahesh Kotbagi, Venkatesh and Trustee Aziz Memon. RI Director Kotbagi, PDG Ch Kishore Kumar, Shoba Kishore and Amita. PDG Rashmi Vinay Kulkarni (RID 3131) with a line-up of zonal TRF awards won by the district. Rashi, RI President Mehta and PRIP Ravindran. Rotary leaders on their way to the institute inaugural.

K Vishwanathan

Rotaractors air their thoughts on policy changes

Jaishree

Come July, Rotaractors will start paying to RI annual membership dues — $5 for institution-based and $8 for community-based Rotaract clubs. The 2019 CoL’s landmark decision to ‘Elevate Rotaract’ also included eliminating upper age limit for Rotaractors and involving them in district committees.

At the Mahabs 21 institute, World Rotaract Committee chair Ravi Vadlamani moderated a special session with Rotaract representatives — RI’s Rotaract Interact Committee member PDRR Ramkumar Raju, RSA MDIO president PDRR Arti Goswami, its vice-president PDRR Naveen Sena and SEARIC MDIO president PDRR Kaushal Sahu — to discuss how Rotaractors view these changes.

The decision to collect membership dues had a mixed response. “For community-based clubs, it is not an issue. But it will be a challenge for college-based clubs,” said Raju. Referring to clubs with large membership such as RAC Ethiraj College in Chennai with 6,000 members and RAC RV College in Bengaluru, he said, “We have clubs with membership in 1,000s and don’t want to lose them.” Vadlamani responded: “It is the price of just one pizza. For the value and transformation that Rotaract gives, this is a small price.”

Echoing his thoughts, Sena said, “it might not burn a hole in the pocket of Rotaractors who have settled down with a career. If they understand the benefits their membership brings, they will be ready to pay.” He pointed out that 50 Rotaractors have been invited to participate in the next International Assembly where Rotary will be offering them training in leadership. “Anything given free will not be valued,” said Sahu.

The Rotaract delegates were however unified in opposing the elimination of upper age limit. “People would want to stay on and pay lesser dues in Rotaract rather than pay a hefty fee as a Rotarian. In fact I know some Rotarians who have become Rotaractors! The

Sridhar Bharathy

RI President Shekhar Mehta gives Paul Harris Certificate to PDRR Rtn Naveen Sena in the presence of (from L) World Rotaract Committee Chair Ravi Vadlamani, Institute Convener RID A S Venkatesh, Institute Chair PDG M Muruganandam, PDRR Rtn Ramkumar Raju, DGN (RID 3232) Ravi Raman and PDRR Arti Goswami.

decision throws open much confusion,” commented Sena.

Talking about the Rotary-Rotaract synergy, he said that Rotaractors are a huge pool of youngsters who are good in creativity, energy, vision, technology and “they have their finger on the current trends. We will support Rotary in achieving its mission. In TEACH, or polio awareness, you will need volunteers in huge numbers. Rotaractors will be ready to do the job. Include us in your planning and district committees and together we can accomplish great things. If Rotary is filled with experienced people, Rotaract is fuelled with energy.”

The benefits are mutual, said Raju. “Rotarians such as my DG CR Raju have nurtured me to become what I am today. If Rotaractors can use the support offered by Rotarians they can go places,” he said, and recalled his convention experience when he was DRR. “Speaking to 40,000 elite Rotarians in the plenary session at the Sydney convention was a dream come true.” He also recalled the My Flag My India event that had 50,000 Rotaractors and Rotarians coming together to form the world’s largest human flag and create a record in Chennai. “Rotarians have always been there and taken us forward. It all depends on how Rotarians see Rotaractors — as people with potential or as ‘just Rotaractors’.”

Referring to Vadlamani, institute chair M Muruganandam and counsellor Y Kumanan, all past DRRs, he said, “This shows how Rotaract has developed leadership qualities in these Rotary leaders.”

Arti lamented the smaller membership of women Rotaractors. “It is only 30 per cent. We must focus on installing Rotaract in women’s colleges, give them leadership responsibilities and implement projects directed at women’s welfare such as menstrual hygiene and cancer screening.”

Vadlamani suggested that Rotary, like Rotaract, should recognise 10 large projects at the Houston convention. He urged the delegates to motivate Rotaractors to become dual members and increase membership of both Rotary and Rotaract. RI has set goals to increase the number of registered Rotaractors to one million by 2029 and RI President Shekhar Mehta wants the Rotaract membership to grow from 200,000 to 300,000 by 2022.

We must install Rotaract in

women’s colleges, give them leadership responsibilities and implement projects directed at women’s welfare

such as menstrual hygiene and cancer screening.

PDRR Arti Goswami

Blanket distribution to prisoners

One afternoon, District pleader Adv. Ketan Dhake was seated with District Legal Aid Service Authority Secretary Judge A A Shaikh to discuss a project in Jalgaon Central Jail as per the Supreme Court directive. They reached out to club president Umang Mehta of Rotary Club of Jalgaon Gold City to collaborate for the project.

Both of them were impressed with the project taken up and progress made by Rotary Jalgaon Gold City. The initial project was to provide counselling for the Under Trial Prisoners (UTP) lodged in the jail. However, following a discussion, the club felt the need for providing blankets to the inmates to protect against the winter cold. And so the project took shape.

The honorary guests Judge Shaikh and District Government pleader Advocate Ketan Dhake along with Umang Mehta were showed the barracks where they interacted with the inmates. Prior to providing the counselling, they wanted to understand whether the UTPs understood their rights while in jail. Surprisingly, 20 per cent of them were not aware of the concept of bail.

During the counselling session led by Judge Shaikh, Advocate Ketan Dhake and Rtn Umang Mehta they educated 200-300 inmates about their rights, medical assistance available and answered their questions.

The blankets that were distributed to all inmates was sponsored by Rahul Jain, a member of Rotary Club of Jalgaon Gold City. The project chairman Rtn. Rahul Kotecha, Prakhar Mehta, Rahul Kothari, Anand Gandhi and law students from the Maniyar college were present.

This project was a first-of-its-kind and was an impactful and successful event. The District Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives (DAGMHI) in Rotary District 3030, India, is the first chapter of the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives. RAGMHI was formed in 2015. DAGMHI’s Board was formed in May 2021 but it has been working since May 2020, when COVID-19 struck the world. The pandemic saw the rise of mental health problems like never before.

DAGMHI shares the vision and mission of RAGMHI, as it promotes mental health and emotional wellbeing in society by generating awareness, removing stigma, and spreading the understanding that mental illness is treatable and preventable. Since last 19 months it has conducted 50 webinars for children, parents, Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors and school students, on different topics. It has conducted poster, slogan and video making competitions. It acts as a resource base for all clubs of the district and other districts too. It has encouraged and guided clubs to form mental health committees and work towards awareness.

It launched a 4-page monthly online newsletter — Mind Matters — in April 2021 which is shared with Rotary clubs across the globe.

From mental illness to mental wellness

A hospice for terminally ill patients in Amravati

Shreemati Late Saraswatidevi Premchand Harwani Memorial Rotary Midtown Sukhant Palliative Care Center at the Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College is a project of Rotary Club of Amravati Midtown, RID 3030, Club ID 15486, implemented with strong giving culture and a generous approach to the local society.

Our Mission

To provide care and support to terminally ill patients right from the day of diagnosis to the end of life stage and bereavement. This shall be accomplished by providing • Medical and nursing care of palliative nature • Psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual support, and counselling through indoor, day-care and homebased palliative care services with the help of a vibrant generous approach and strong giving culture.

Our Vision

• People battling lifetime diseases and suffering from unbearable distress, pain and other symptoms must live a dignified life till their last breath • The elderly suffering fourth stage distress and leading dependent life must live a dignified life till their last breath • No close relative of terminally ill patients and old age persons leading dependent life should suffer from mental and physical stress of caring for their loved ones.

Services offered at Rotary Midtown Sukhant Palliative Care Center

• Until death: Palliative care for terminally ill patients until death • Short stay: Terminally ill patients are also admitted for a short stay particularly when the caretakers have to leave home for some important work • Daycare: Family members can drop their patient in the morning hours and take them back in the late evening hours. • Home-based palliative care:

Not every terminally ill patient is admitted to a palliative care centre, but for many patients medical, nursing, counselling facilities have to be delivered directly at their doorsteps. This is called homebased palliative care. In the second phase of this project, Sukhant

Home-based Palliative Care Service will be started.

Facilities available at Rotary Midtown Sukhant Palliative Care Center

• 20-bed hospital with cubical arrangement for patients and caregivers, with all modern facilities • Air cooled space with proper cross-ventilation • Round-the-clock service of trained nurses and other healthcare workers, availability of doctors from time to time • Centralised oxygen supply system and advanced firefighter system • Dietary guidance and psychological counselling facilities • Videoconferencing facilities for patients to communicate with relatives • Beautiful garden attached to the ward for spending some time in pleasant environment and for prayer • In addition to qualified healthcare workers, services of well-trained volunteer caregivers will be available. Rotary Midtown Sukhant Palliative Care Center management team remains grateful to all donors, all members of Rotary Club of Amravati Midtown, management of Shree Shivaji Education Society, Dean and Director of Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College and particularly PDG Kishor Kedia, RID 3030, for encouraging, guiding and for all the support extended from time to time.